7/4/22 9:47 AM

Got a set of Chrome walkable shoes I bought well over a decade ago. The cleats need replacement but the screwheads have been walked on and deformed so much I can't get any size allen (metric or imp) in there with any purchase. I'd like to salvage the shoes but have no idea how I might get the screws out without damaging the surrounding material.


Any help?

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/PKiAd9j.jpg" width=1003 height=1333>

7/4/22 10:23 AM

If you have an allen key with the ball hex tip, you can work it in to mash down the edge/lips in the opening. You can rock the ball hex tip knocking down the lip.

But don't use the ball end to remove, once you knock the lip down use a right angle non ball hex tip or you'll strip it.

Else you'll need a fresh sharp steel drill bit to drill the head off. But then you may not get the threaded part out if seized in the threads. This will likely be bad.

OR dermel a fat slot and use a huge flat blade screw driver.

Or drill and use an eazy out you can get HD ot True Value. Still need a good fresh steel drill bit for that method.




EASY OUTS:

[Note the reverse helix bite/angle]

7/4/22 11:23 AM

You can use an Allen wrench to broach a new hole. Just take the appropriate size wrench and carefully grind the end flat, so it has square edges. Be careful not to overheat the wrench and draw the temper (you'll know if it turns blue).

Once you've prepped the wrench, support the shoe from the inside and set it sole up on a bench. Align the wrench as close as possible to the original hex shape in the screw head and tap it in with a hammer. The square edges will cut a new hole and once it's tapped in as far as it will go, you should be able to loosen the screw.

There doesn't appear to be appreciable rust on the screws, but if there is, apply some penetrating oil to the threads before you try to remove the screws.

7/4/22 12:47 PM

I had a crank L side allen bolt stripped, ended up Dremelling a slot for a slotted screwdriver. That worked.

7/5/22 11:52 AM

If you get them off be sure to use grease on the new cleat bolts.

7/6/22 8:52 PM

Alternative if you have a Dremel tool or the like, is to get one of those little cutoff wheels (very fragile, so the refills come in generously stacked jar, and don't lose the tiny screw that holds them on)and cut screwdriver slots into the bolt heads. Get a big screwdriver and use that, or in a pinch, a chisel.

This is, by the way, also one of the only ways you can do the oft-mangled, usually rusty countersunk philips screws that are used on automotive brake disks and drums, if you don't have the right impact tool, or a previous owner did not. And once you learn how not to keep breaking the fragile wheels so often, they can do amazingly useful work on other rusty fasteners, shock absorber bushings, and whatnot.

So far for old SPD cleats I've usually found that a sharp tool like the tang of a small file, used to aggressively clean the rust and mud out of the hex hole in the head, will remind it of what wrench is supposed to fit.

7/7/22 5:48 AM

Another thing to check is whether you can replace the backing plates from inside the shoes, which is pretty typical of SPDs. IIRC, new cleats come with backing plates, too. Given that, you can always drill out the screws, which won't damage the cleats.